We all make mistakes; we're only human. Sometimes we make the same mistakes over and over. Fortunately,it is possible to learn from others' mistakes, and that's what is presented in The Diva Doctrine: 16 Universal Principles Every Women Needs to Know,by Patricia Volonakis Davis. The book will be released next month.

The award-winning author of Harlot's Sauce: A Memoir of Food, Family, Love, Loss and Greece will tell you she's an "expert at failed relationships."In her forthcoming book, she shares her words of wisdom -earned through the trials and tribulations of her own life - told with her signature candor mixed with a healthy dose of humor.

Among her principles, readers will find advice on managing parental relationships, friendships, dealing with jerks, finding the right"one" and more. Not that we needed permission, but if you're looking for permission -or license - to be the strong, confident and enterprising woman you are, here it is.

This book sprung out of a blog post Davis wrote,entitled "Advice from an Older Woman to a Younger One,"regarding advice she would give to her younger self. It resonated with readers, and quickly went viral. Representatives from CedarFort Press heard her speaking about the post on a radio show. They immediately contacted Davis and approached her to expand this one little post into an entire book.

Call it a pocket guide, if you will, but keep this book nearby in the event you need to reference it again - you probably will. We do get caught up in things and forget that we are people too, and not just moms, wives and daughters. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we are spirited, dynamic, smart,ambitious, passionate, resilient, and of course, we are divas - "in the truest sense of the word, a diva is a woman who is successful,happy, and most of all, confident." We aren't talking primadonnas here. We are talking about vital, robust individuals who have much to contribute, in their homes, to their families, to their workplaces and in the world.

This book is a must-have for every woman.